How to Improve Your Mood Swings With 7 Lifestyle Changes

It’s normal to experience negative emotions from time to time. However, sudden mood changes sometimes happen and may feel like they come on for no exact reason. These changes are normal as long as they don’t interfere with your daily life or the lives of people around you. 

Many things can affect your mood swings and they can be related to your lifestyle. Your day-to-day activities like how much you move in a day can impact your overall mental and physical health. These mood swings can make you feel out of control and hypersensitive. As frustrating as this may be, there are some lifestyle changes you can make to keep them from happening. This article will give you a list of things that you can do to improve your mood swings.

Have a healthy lifestyle

Having a healthy lifestyle by changing your bad habits can help with occasional to frequent mood swings. A healthy lifestyle is when you do things that make you feel happy and good – mentally and physically. This can mean eating a balanced diet, doing physical activity, avoiding alcohol, tobacco, and drugs, as well as getting plenty of rest. You can try taking a walk for 30 minutes to an hour and this can lift your mood and help you feel better. Additionally, when you eat healthier, you get a steady source of fuel from the foods you eat which can positively affect your body and your mind. 

Having and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important as it lowers our risk of having health problems. It can also improve our sudden mood changes as these can take control of our lives. However, know that having a healthier lifestyle doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to be a fitness fanatic. You just need to change your bad habits to improve your daily life and overall well-being.

Wake up earlier

Waking up earlier than usual, at least an hour before, can reduce your mood swings. The human body has the natural inclination to sleep at a certain time, or what most people understand as being an early bird versus a night owl. This is called chronotype. According to a study from the University of Colorado, there’s a link between chronotype and mood. The study suggested that waking up early helps you develop better habits and improves your day-to-day productivity.

Physiologically, individuals who wake up early tend to have more positive thoughts compared to people who sleep late. They are also found to be more optimistic and conscientious. Additionally, these people get higher and earlier light exposure which can increase the brain’s release of the hormone serotonin, which boost a person’s mood and help them feel calm and focused.

Get enough sleep

Getting enough sleep is crucial for our health. While you may be eating well and exercising regularly, not getting enough sleep every night undermines all your efforts. If sleep deprivation is part of your routine, you may be at risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and poor mental health. 

Getting enough sleep is also said to improve your mood swings. According to a study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, subjects who were limited to 4 to 5 hours of sleep at night were more stressed, angry, sad, and mentally exhausted. When the subjects normalized their sleep, there was a dramatic improvement in their mood. Note that there is no ideal time to go to bed or wake up. But the optimal sleep duration for adults is between 7 to 9 hours each night.

Manage Your Stress Levels

Stress can come from different aspects of your everyday life. When you feel upset or threatened, your body might create a stress response. This can cause a change in the way you behave and may lead you to experience intense emotions. Chronic stress can lead to problems such as restlessness, lack of motivation and focus, irritability, and more serious health problems like high blood pressure as well as stomach and digestive problems. 

Stress affects us in several ways, both physically and emotionally. To manage our stress levels, we should exercise regularly, avoid tobacco and nicotine products, eat well, and practice meditation, among other things. Managing our stress levels by doing these things is essential to improving our quality of life.

Do some exercise

Physical activity has a huge potential to enhance our overall well-being. A sedentary lifestyle in which little to no physical activity is done can cause serious health problems including high blood pressure, arthritis, diabetes, and many types of cancer. This lifestyle can also give you anxiety as well as increase your risk of major depressive disorder.

There are easy ways to increase your physical activity throughout the day. You can take your dog for a walk, go for a bike ride with a friend, or try looking for easy local hiking paths to help you get started. Exercising is an effective way to improve your mood as it is known to increase your endorphins, adrenaline, endocannabinoid and dopamine levels. These are chemicals that can trigger positive feelings in the body and can make you a more happy person.

Keep track of your mood

Understanding your mood swings can help you manage them more effectively. Being aware of how your mood changes may help you manage your lifestyle choices and make better health decisions. This includes avoiding things that may trigger negative moods and working towards a better quality of life. 

You can keep track of changes in your mood by self-monitoring. You can do this by writing a daily journal that allows you to track whether you are feeling happy, sad, tired, bored, or angry. Some people say that this can help you better identify your moods and, in turn, understand them. Awareness of our mood and how it changes has been linked to an improvement in mental health.

Can CBD Help?

Yes. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a compound from the cannabis plant that is known to provide a wide range of health benefits without causing psychoactive effects. In recent years, the popularity of CBD products as an alternative to prescription medications is increasing due to their potential benefits including relief from anxiety and insomnia. 

Generally, most functions in the body rely on the endocannabinoid system to maintain balance. The primary molecule responsible for regulating mood is called anandamide. When your body can’t produce enough of this molecule, you will experience low moods. Taking CBD is also said to affect serotonin levels, which is a hormone that stabilizes mood while reducing symptoms of depression. CBD interacts with serotonin and helps contribute to feelings of happiness and well-being.  

The research on this cannabinoid and how it can help improve mood is still limited. But if you want to try CBD, talk to your healthcare provider first. To check out some of the best CBD products in the market, click here.